by Yazmin Ghonaim
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by Yazmin Ghonaim |
THE PRINCESS AND THE
WARRIOR
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A young and committed nurse that lives and works in a psychiatric clinic, Sissi (Franka Potente: Run Lola Run) has gained a favorable status among the clinic's inhabitants. Sought after mostly by the male patients, who enjoy her submissive devotion to them, Sissi personifies the mysteriousness of one who seems to be willingly leading a life institutionalized and devoid of outside influence. One day, when Sissi leaves the clinic to attend to an unexpected errand, an almost fatal accident confirms her vulnerability and results in the encounter with Bodo (Benno Fürmann), a runaway thief who has indirectly caused the accident. Bodo executes a bold maneuver and manages to save her life before disappearing. Marked by the close encounter with Bodo, Sissi becomes obsessed with finding her savior and learning if their paths crossed by mere chance or by a promising fate.
Although concerned with exploring
the indiscriminate power of love, The Princess and the
Warrior does not rely on conventionality to represent
the togetherness of two individuals. Rather, the film
follows its enigmatic characters closely and grants each its
own narrative space, while establishing the unlikelihood of
their compatibility. Patiently weaving an intricate plot
that promises viewers to slowly reveal the truth about
Bodo's profound sadness and Sissi's zombie-like nature,
The Princess and the Warrior clearly establishes one
character's rejection of love and the other's unacquaintance
with it. Director Tykwer explains: "Values from experience
meet values from non-experience...[T]he field of
tension between the two [characters] is less
physical. They first have to try to understand each other."
In one scene, Sissi confronts Bodo and the process is
triggered: "I want to know if my life's gotta change and if
you're the reason." Although the film's title may seem to
promote the characters as a passive princess and an active
warrior, "The Princess and the Warrior" provides an epic
motif which does not neglect the dynamics of the male/female
equation: Bodo's initial saving act activates Sissi's
dormant spirit, which --in turn-- becomes the active
pursuant of Bodo's salvation and the key reviver of his
combatant ego. Indeed, the film's most intriguing images and
technical efforts involve the visual representation of this
duality of the forlorn Bodo versus the warrior Bodo. Shaping
the temperament of its scenes with an emotive music score
(by Johnny Kilmek and Reinhold Heil), The Princess and
the Warrior proves its ability to narrate a story about
the complex nature of the human psyche.
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Outstanding Features: |
Story, Acting, Music |
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